Five Ways to Choose Professional References for a Job

Congratulations! You made it past multiple screening steps in the hiring process Now, your hiring manager is about to have a chat with one or two of your professional references to determine if you are a good fit for the position. What happens if the call ends up going to a childhood friend who has no idea how to recommend you to an employer or a coworker who does not talk about your best attributes? You might even get thrown out of the shortlist. This is why it’s important to choose your professional references wisely.

Look for the right connections

Not everyone is suitable or qualified to provide a professional reference for a job. That’s why you should have a list of professional references ready before you start applying for your dream opportunities. Ensure that you select people who can speak highly of your work ethic, skills, and work performance. Here are some great connections to add to your list:

• Current supervisors
• Former employers
• Colleagues
• Coworkers
• Professors
• Mentors
• Clients

Choose people who know the real you

The hiring manager is going to call your references and ask some basic questions to determine whether they know you. Then, they are going to dive in with important questions. If your professional references do not have sufficient information about you and your career, the phone call may end up depicting a trainwreck. Here are some questions that your professional references must prepare to answer about you:

• Can you describe the candidate’s job responsibilities and duties?
• What are the candidate’s key strengths and weaknesses?
• Is the candidate reliable and dependable?
• How did the candidate handle feedback and criticism?
• Can you provide examples of the candidate’s teamwork and collaboration skills?
• How does the candidate handle conflicts or difficult situations with others?
• Why did the candidate leave your organization?
• Would you rehire the candidate? Why or why not?

Get relevant details from your references

Now, you may have a mental list of the right connections to ask to be your professional references. When you reach out to them, be sure to get a few important pieces of information about each person for your professional reference document. Here’s what you should know about each person who becomes a professional reference:

• Full name
• Job title/designation
• Your relationship with them
• Company name/address
• Contact details – work email, phone number, location

Create and organize your list

Great! Now you have all the details you want about the people you consider adding to your list of professional references. Now all that’s left for you to do is organize them. Most employers will require up to three professional references per job application. However, we recommend maintaining a list of at least ten professional references that can attest to various aspects of your career and professional life. This way, you can choose the references that are relevant for each of your job applications instead of sending generic references.

Keep your references informed

You don’t want your professional references to go “Alex who?” when a hiring manager calls them about your job application. Ensure that your professional references are aware of the job for which you are applying. They should know a little bit about the role and which skills of yours to emphasize in their answers. You can keep your references in the loop by updating them via an email or a call.